Free Online Word Counter – Count Words, Characters & More

Paste or type your text and instantly see word count, characters (with/without spaces), lines, readability scores, and more. Everything runs inside your browser — nothing leaves your device.

0 words

0 characters (spaces)

0 characters (no spaces)

0 lines

Text History (saved in your browser)

Extracted URLs, Emails, and Hashtags

Top Keyword Density

Keyword	Count	Density
No keywords yet. Type or paste text above to see word frequency.

Detailed Stats

Why Use This Word Counter?

I needed a word counter that didn't force me to sign up, didn't feel sluggish, and didn't send my text to some server in the cloud. So I built one that ticks all three boxes – and then added a few things I always wished other counters had, like readability scores and local history. Here's what you get:

Instant, live stats – no need to click a button. Every number updates as you type or paste.
Complete privacy – your text stays on your device. I don't see it, and I don't store it.
Readability scores – Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch‑Kincaid Grade Level, shown as clear numbers.
Text history – save multiple versions locally and compare them anytime (stored in your browser).
Works offline – once the page loads, you can disconnect and keep working.

A couple of small ads (via Google AdSense) help cover the hosting, but they won't block your screen or make you click through anything.

How to Use the Word Counter

Paste or type your text into the box above.
Watch the stats appear instantly in the sidebar – words, characters, sentences, and more.
Use the toolbar inside the textarea to clear, copy, change case, or export your text.

That's it. No signup, no pop‑ups, just a clean, powerful word counter.

Common Word & Character Targets

Wondering if your text meets typical requirements? Here's a quick reference of the most common limits people search for:

Use case	Typical word / character count
Twitter post	280 characters
Facebook post	No hard limit, but 40–80 words is optimal
Instagram caption	2,200 characters max, but 125–150 is ideal
Meta description (Google)	150–160 characters
Blog post (short)	300–600 words
Blog post (in‑depth)	1,500–2,500 words
High school essay	300–500 words
College application essay	250–650 words
Short story	1,000–7,500 words
Novel chapter	2,000–5,000 words

Keep this table in mind while writing, and use the live counter above to stay on track. The history feature is especially handy when you're trying different drafts and want to compare word counts.

Who Uses This Word Counter?

User	How They Benefit
Students & Academics	Meet word limits, check readability, and estimate speaking time for presentations.
Writers & Bloggers	Optimize article length and ensure readability for target audience.
SEO Specialists	Monitor word count, extract links and emails from text.
Social Media Managers	Check character counts and extract hashtags.
Translators	Track word count and unique words; compare texts using history.
Developers	Count words in logs and extract data programmatically.

How People Actually Use It (Typical Scenarios)

Polishing a college essay

A student pastes their 1,500‑word draft, sees that the Flesch‑Kincaid grade level is a bit high for their audience, and simplifies a few sentences to bring the readability down. The final version lands right in the sweet spot.

Checking meta description length

An SEO specialist pastes a meta description into the counter, instantly sees the character count (with spaces), and trims it to fit Google's recommended length. The live character‑with‑spaces number makes it effortless.

Trimming a Twitter thread

A social media manager extracts all hashtags from their thread, discovers they've used 12, and cuts them down to the 5 most relevant ones. The extract panel saves the day.

Debugging application logs

A developer pastes a long error log into the counter and uses the character breakdown to make sure the log contains only ASCII letters and digits. The detailed stats make debugging a little less painful.

Tips to Make the Most of This Word Counter

Use the history to save multiple drafts. It's like a tiny version control system for your writing.
Adjust the speaking WPM to get a realistic presentation time. 130–150 WPM is a natural pace for most speakers.
Keep an eye on lexical density – if it's very low, your vocabulary may be repetitive. A score of 50–70% is often a sign of varied, engaging text.
Export as PDF or DOCX when you need a formatted copy for sharing or printing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my word count differ from Microsoft Word or Google Docs?

Great question – and you're not the first to ask. Every word processor has its own definition of a "word". We count any sequence of non‑whitespace characters as a word, just like most counters. Discrepancies usually come from footnotes, text boxes, or special formatting that those editors count separately. Our counter gives you a clean, plain‑text count. If you need exact parity with MS Word, strip all hidden content and paste only the body text – the numbers will match.

Does this tool support languages like Hindi, Spanish, or French?

Absolutely – and I've tested it. The character counter works universally, whether you're typing in English, हिंदी, Español, or emojis 🎉. Word counting splits on spaces, so it works for any language that uses spaces (including Devanagari‑script Hindi when typed with spaces). The readability scores and syllable counter are tuned for English, so they'll be less accurate for other languages, but the raw counts (words, characters) are solid for almost any script. If you're working with a language that doesn't use spaces (like Chinese), the character count is your best friend.

Is there a limit on how much text I can check at once?

There's no hard limit. I've thrown entire novel manuscripts at it (80,000+ words) and it handles them fine. Since everything runs in your browser, performance depends on your device. On a typical laptop, you can comfortably count 50,000–100,000 words without any lag. If you do push it to the limit, just split the text into chunks – or treat yourself to a newer phone 😄.

Is my text really private? What happens to it?

Nothing. And I mean that literally. The entire word counter runs inside your own browser – it never travels to any server. I don't see your text, I don't store it, I don't even collect analytics on what you write. Even the history feature saves drafts only in your browser's local storage (you can clear it anytime). I built it this way because I'm a writer myself and got tired of tools that upload everything to the cloud. Your words are yours. Period.

Can I use this tool offline?

Yes! Once the page has loaded, all the JavaScript and fonts are cached. You can turn off your WiFi, head to a mountain cabin, or jump on a plane – the counter still works perfectly. I've personally used it on 14‑hour flights to edit long articles. The only thing you'll miss is the search‑tools overlay (it needs the index), but the core word counting, case changes, and export features run completely offline.

How accurate are the reading and speaking time estimates?

Pretty accurate for average content. Reading time uses the industry standard of 200 words per minute – that's an adult reading moderately complex material. Speaking time defaults to 150 words per minute (typical presentation speed). You can adjust the speaking WPM with the little box inside the stats panel. If your text is packed with technical jargon or poetry, actual speed may vary, but it's a solid ballpark.